Turkish Cypriot leader to urge Cyprus talk overhaul in meeting with UN chief

NICOSIA

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman will meet U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Feb. 11 to present proposals for a revised negotiation methodology should talks resume on the ethnically divided island.

Since assuming office in late 2025, Erhürman has held three meetings with Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, attended by the U.N. chief’s special envoy Maria Holguin. He is now calling for changes to the negotiating framework before launching formal UN-led talks.

The Turkish Cypriot president is demanding a four-point methodological overhaul, including the unconditional acceptance of the rotating presidency as a reflection of Turkish Cypriots’ political equality, the confirmation of all convergences reached in negotiations over the past half-century, the introduction of a strict timeline for talks and the lifting of international isolations on Turkish Cypriots should the Greek Cypriot side once again abandon the negotiating table.

In his meeting with Guterres, Erhürman is also expected to underline what he describes as Greek Cypriot resistance even to confidence-building measures.

Taking office, Erhürman has departed from his predecessor Ersin Tatar’s two-state vision, instead advocating a reunified federal Cyprus.

However, he insists that such a settlement must guarantee full political equality and equal authority for Turkish Cypriots.

The last major round of peace talks collapsed in Switzerland in 2017.